More foreign-trained skilled trades critical to address housing crisis, says Vaughan-based construction council

Wraparound supports for newcomers necessary to transition skilled workers to 'build range of housing we need,' says United Way

Yorkregion.com
April 11, 2023
Brian Capitao

More foreign-trained workers with specialized skill sets and skilled trades experience are needed to address the housing crisis in Ontario.

Recently, the Ontario government announced that it would increase investment into the Skills Development Fund, in addition to doubling the number of foreign-trained skilled trades under the Ontario Immigration Nominee Program (OINP).

That's welcome news to the Residential Construction Council of Ontario (RESCON), based in Vaughan.

Domestic training alone will not be enough to offset anticipated labour shortages in the residential construction industry, according to RESCON president Richard Lyall.

According to a BuildForce Canada report, 26,000 workers or 15 per cent of the current labour workforce is expected to retire in the next six years. The residential construction industry needs workers with the specialized skill sets that are required to build houses, condos and infrastructure like sewers and roads, said Lyall.

RESCON has been advocating for amendments to OINP that would allow and make it easier for more immigrants with international experience in voluntary trades to come to Ontario to work and live.

In March, Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development Minister Monte McNaughton announced that the Ontario government reached an agreement with the federal government that will enable the province to substantially increase the number of economic immigrants it selects through OINP, increasing from 9,750 in 2022 to 16,500 in 2023 and more than 18,000 by 2025.

“We need more skilled construction trades long term because our immigration numbers are the highest in the developed world, but we're producing probably per capita the fewest amount of houses,” Lyall said.

“It creates a considerable amount of pressure given those very high immigration numbers relative to housing supply,” he added.

Community Benefit Agreements (CBAs) -- contractual requirements on construction, infrastructure and development projects for specific social outcomes -- are an integral part of the process, said United Way Greater Toronto president and CEO Daniele Zanotti.

The organization partners with more than 300 agencies, including COSTI and Carefirst in York Region, to provide direct services to newcomers.

CBAs in place between the United Way and projects such as the Eglinton Crosstown, West Park Healthcare Centre and Greater Golden Mile are great examples of the agency playing a crucial role right across the GTA, said Zanotti, adding “there are a number of newcomers who would be open to the skilled trades.”

Language, particularly on job sites, is a key barrier for immigrants hoping to transition to a career in the skilled trades, said Zanotti. Being too restrictive may also preclude some newcomers from finding jobs.

“We have newcomers and immigrants who are eager to get to work, but what policies recommend is that they need a Grade 10 English equivalent to be on the job site,” he said.

There are some initiatives in place, however, that are offsetting that.

“We do have a close relationship with organized labour and they do produce documents and literature in many languages through the benefit funds ... so, there is care and attention being paid to that there,” said Lyall.

While there may not be official translators on site, there are informal groups and often multilingual individuals on site who can assist with that kind of thing, said Lyall.

“And, from a safety point of view, that communication part of it is very important,” he added.

“We started to introduce some courses for supervisory personnel and on how to communicate more effectively because, of course, people from different cultures communicate differently,” he said.

.Language proficiency is just one example of why full wraparound services are needed, argued Zanotti.

“For us, to build the York region and GTA and province that we need, it must be accompanied with wraparound supports for newcomers to integrate, learn the language, get access to child care so that they can help drive the economy and the range of housing we need,” Zanotti said.